"As for the living with folks after high school comment...ouch. Probably a good thing you didn't FAIP, definately a good thing that not everyone thinks the same way you do. Personally I don't think anyone goes off to UPT to satisfy a lifetime desire to stay and teach UPT, I know I didn't. At the same time, I always enjoyed teaching. I didn't have a 20 year plan like the thread starter, but I was willing to do it. In my case, it came with a guarenteed follow on, one that I wanted. That was enough for me."[/QUOTE]

I wasn't trying to hurt anyone's feelings with that comment. But based upon the originator's post and as to why he is going to volunteer for the FAIP gig it seems as though he is making his decisions not because he wants to teach, but because it's the easy answer. He has his AETC issued slide rule and calculator out constructing his 10yr plan. How many people on this forum have ever had their 2-4yr plan go according to their wishes? Let alone a 10 yr plan? I too enjoy teaching. I like being able instruct a "student" in the C-17 about how to run a crew in the TACC system. It goes way beyond just the stick and rudder skills needed to pass an AETC check ride. Actual AR vs flying a T-1 20-30ft in trail in much different. A FAIP has no reference with which to offer career advice since he doesn't know anything else. Somewhere in this Forum trail it was mentioned that MWS IP in AETC guys aren't as good as the AETC FAIPs at UPT. It not that we aren't as good. It's just that we don't get so wrapped up emotionally in the anal retention factor which is naturally fostered within AETC. We've been jerked around by halfwit careerists in Illinois enough to realize some things just don't matter. We have a great family, a car/house that's paid for, and travelled to lots of places civilians pay lots of money to go see. We get to serve our country in Operations not seen on CNN or only reported on as an afterthought. There's a sense of accomplishment that's more than just -- trying to determine where are we going to lunch today on the T-1 cross country. I would think that it would be better from a bigger perspective to go to an MWS first and then back to AETC. Especially if you're going to start a family 3-5 years after UPT graduation.

I'll be the first to admit that much of the UPT aviation skills are lost within the first 2 years of flying the C-17. The sheer amount of info provided by the HUD and MFDs allows one to become lax in basic aviation skill sets (descent rates, NDBs, circles, etc.) Based on your comments I'm assuming you are at least an IP by now. It's up to us to ensure that the stick and rudder skills are second nature and allow one to progress to the level of taking a crew around the world safely. That ability will be based upon your personality and ability to react to change at a moments notice. Those FAIPs that I've seen succeed the most in AMC are those who realize that flying the C-17 goes way beyond having good general knowledge and flying ability. It's about applying that knowledge on your own when there's no one in the tower to offer you advice.

I just wanted to set the record straight that I don't think FAIPs are weak or any worse that those of us who were never FAIPs. But, it is a different skill set being an instructor in AMC than AETC. Much of who you become in your next life after AETC (and the Air Force) will be driven by your personality.

Don't be a D--K.